Due to the length of criminal proceedings, it’s not uncommon for criminal defendants to have more than one case pending at a time.

Occasionally a defendant will be incarcerated on one case while he’s still technically released on his own recognizance in another court.

For example, say that a criminal defendant pleads guilty to a crime in “District Court A” and receives one year of probation.

The same defendant is charged with a new crime in “District Court B” and released on his own recognizance.

However, shortly after his arraignment in District Court B, he is summoned to District Court A for violating his probation. After a probation violation hearing in District Court A, he is locked up for 60 days for the violation.

The defendant will typically not receive any credit in District Court B for the 60-days sentence unless he asks District Court B to impose a nominal bail (usually $25 or $50) in his case.

By having a nominal bail imposed on his District Court B case, the defendant can get credit for the time he serves due to the probation violation in District Court A and, ultimately, make any plea deal or sentence he receives from District Court B less severe.